Dutch Coronamelder app needs "current" G**gle Play Services

/e/ could remove the code (which I don’t hope) from microG. @Manoj said above (if I understood him correctly) that /e/ has not yet made a decision whether the code will be included or not and that they will take the decision in the nearer future.

The implementation of covid on microg, of course there will be and we all know it.

The only thing we ABSOLUTELY need to be sure of (officially speaking), is that if the function remains uninhabited, then it would not allow any app to invade the private part of our phones, or act as a trojan horse for other tracking functions in the future.

This is the reassurance we are looking for…

I’d like to point out that the expression “other tracking functions” is not correct. The feature is no tracking function, so there are no other tracking functions.
microG is open source, so you and everybody else who has doubts is invited to examine the code.
And, seriously, how can you ask for a reassurance for the future?
Can you reassure me that my movements will not be tracked by the cell phone connectivity of my phone? (Besides the fact that I expect many governments to log the cells where your phone is logged in already)

Hello Daniel,

although I work in IT, I’m not a programmer or a developer, so I honestly wouldn’t know where and how to interpret microg open-source code… for me it would be like reading a foreign language I’m listening to for the first time.

That’s why I need a reassurance from the microg developer or who has officially chosen to support and implement it in the operating system /e/ (which I TRUST a lot).

Then of course, nobody can give us the certainty about the future, but this project (/e/), was born to give an alternative oriented to privacy and detachment from the “google&co” world, which I personally believe is fundamental!

So yes, I ask, in case the framework on covid should be implemented (and so it will be!), the guarantee that it will not be used for other purposes of tracking user activities!!!

And “the” app is actually a different app for each region (out of 2-3 screens with regions…)! The human race is sometimes extremely wasteful.

As it doesn’t cost anything PROBABLY the best indeed would be if somebody from microG would come and give some statement if it helps some people to feel more confident but trying to get beyond the availability bias I don’t understand at all the whole hoopla around this. First of all this is by far the slightest privacy invading thing from everything offered by microG, you can enumerate and slice each and every feature offered, each and every one is a much bigger privacy loss than this. And second this API by itself does nothing, it needs an app. So it can be exploited in two ways: if the developers bind some sneaky app that does nefarious things or if they somehow leave some security holes that an app can actually use the API without somebody giving the permissions. Neither one can be avoided by some statements from the developers. I swear not to give you a trojan? This is what I’d say if I really wanted to give you one. I promise my app has bullet proof security? We’ve seen such statements and then products fail spectacularly.

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So let’s hope for the best…there’s nothing else to be done… :crossed_fingers:

P.S.: most likely you are right, and a statement would not change the reality of the facts, but I am personally convinced that it is always better to say and make things explicit, than to leave them to mere deductions…anyway we hope well…eventually I will always be able to remove the package

(How remove microG of /e/ os?)

Hi @Manoj. Since the v11 Update did not bring along the current MicroG version I would like to renew the question, as to whether a decision concerning the Exposure Notification framework has been reached or when to expect it.

As I work in the public health sector this issue is quite pressing to me - in the sense that I’d have to start searching for a new phone or switch to another OS - so I apologize in advance if I am coming across a bit pushy. Any updates at all are greatly appreciated. And thanks for your work!

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There has been no decision on this so far. Will check again and get back.

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You should make an issue on gitlab.

A microG with the covid-framework implementation and with an option to disable should be available in about 2 weeks time.

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Hello.

An option to enable would be better… (default = Off).

It means a toast notification with ‘Don’t ask anymore’ check box and a special entry in ‘Settings’

Sounds very good! But will it also be available in /e/ or will you stick to the older version without? If /e/ sticks to the older version, will there be an option to install the newer version easily (as it is a system app, it can’t be easily upgraded by f-droid or so)?

If I’m not mistaken @Manoj’s message is refering to the framework becoming available on /e/. It has been part of microG for about a month.

As far as I undestand it, it will be disabled by default, in the sense that it is inactive unless an app uses it. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Generally: Great news, thanks to all involved!

That is correct…I am referring to the Covid-19 related Exposure framework being added to the microG. This should be available in the /e/ ROM as part of the build in the next 2 weeks.
Still has to undergo user testing.
By default it will be disabled.
Also additional apps as relevant in your locality will have to be download and installed by the user to get this feature to work. On its own it does not send out data.

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This is really appreciated (at least by me :wink: )
Thanks for making it available!

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Very good news! Thank you very much, Manoj!

Here’s a mastodon link saying that the corona stuff is working in microg now and it contains the link to the conversation on github https://chaos.social/@rugk/104846852260699285

The conversation on github

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Wow, awesome!
@Manoj as there is a working release of microG with exposure notification now, can you estimate how long it will take to come to /e/?

Otherwise, if it takes long: is there a way to replace built-in microG with the newly released version? Apparently not via f-droid or so, but can it be flashed manually?

We should be able to release the microG covid framework in a disabled-by-default form this coming week.

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You mean as an OTA? It would be great to have it. Thanks a lot for /e/'s and microG’s developers work :slight_smile: